I transplanted an adult tree, about 7ft tall 6ft wide. The roots were in pretty good condition, the tree was well pruned. It was great looking and full of ripe lemons. We took the lomons off before the transplant. A landscaping guy suggested lots of water for the tree. Flooding it several times a day. This is what I did... I flooded the tree 1-2 times dayly during a course of a week. The leaves started to curl a bit and some would become slightly yellow. Then it rained for two weeks straight. Heavy rain and storm. At this point I havent watered the tree for about a 1-2 after the rains stopped and the soil is still moist. The leaves wilted and dried up. Is my tree dead? I live in California and temperatures range between 40-75 now. What should I expect, is their anything I can or should do? Thanks.
In that you have done what you have done, my presumption is that you can only wait now to see what transpires. Hoping for the best, it is possible that your tree is only exhibiting transplant shock, and will recover. It might have been helpful to have flood-irrigated the tree for a couple of days before it was dug. I would back off on the watering for now. Keep it damp, but don't flood it anymore.
Over watering is a common killer of citrus trees. Many times it is not the actual water that does the damage, but the lack of root zone oxygen, which is displaced by the flooding of water. Normally a citrus tree can withstand the lack of root zone oxygen for a period of two days before some damage starts to begin. When a citrus tree is going to be transplanted, it is helpful if you take a spade and cut the roots in a three or four foot circle around the trunk a couple months before the tree is actually moved. By "pruning" the roots, the tree will develop many side roots starting approximately 4-5 inches back from the point that the spading cut was made. Therefore, the tree has many hundreds of new root tips to rely on when it is transplanted. Nick the bark of your tree at various heights, to see if the cambium layer is still green. As long as the cambium remains green, there is always a fairly good chance that the tree will begin to produce new vegetation. Good luck to this tree. - Millet
The weather says it will rain for the next two-3 days should I cover the soil with a bag or something to prevent it from getting wet?
You could, for your personal satisfaction, but my opinion would be that 1. the rain will probably not be of Biblical deluge proportions, and 2. the rain drops will be 'super - oxygenated' from passing through the atmosphere.
It also depends a lot on your soil. If the planting spot is in a area that does not drain well, you may want to consider relocating it to a area that does have adequit drainage or you may lose the tree anyway.
It's been a few weeks, the rains have stopped and the weather is nice. My tree shows signs that its alive, ie if I scratch the bark it's green and some branches are green as well. The tree is still covered with yellowish green dry leafes. Its been a long time and it doesnt seem that they are falling off. Should I help the tree by taking these leafes off? No new vegetation as of yet...
Did you prune your tree when you transplanted? If not, you could and probably still should do that as it will help balance the top with the roots that were lost.
